S. Korea, U.S. agree to work toward opening denuclearization talks with N. Korea

Thursday, January 18, 2018 14:23

Senior diplomats from South Korea and the United States have agreed to work closely to open denuclearization talks with North Korea, the foreign ministry said Thursday.

First Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam met with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan and Deputy National Security Adviser Ricky Waddell in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday to discuss the on-going dialogue between South and North Korea and the North's nuclear issue, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During the meetings, Lim communicated the results of the series of high- and working-level talks the South has recently held with the North, the ministry said.

South Korean and American officials agreed to cooperate closely so that the inter-Korean talks can lead to new dialogue with the North on denuclearization, the ministry noted.

The two sides also concurred that the foreign ministers' meeting held in Vancouver, Canada earlier this week affirmed the international community's solidarity for a peaceful and diplomatic resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue.

Lim and Sullivan also agreed to host a strategic dialogue between the two countries' vice foreign ministers sometime in the first half of this year to discuss bilateral and global issues, according to the ministry.

On Thursday, the South Korean vice foreign minister is scheduled to meet with United Nations Security-General Antonio Guterres in New York to discuss global peace, it also said. The yonhap.